


And that idea's not so wild

by Literally



Category: Falsettos - Lapine/Finn
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canon Era, F/F, F/M, Jason's POV, M/M, Post-Act 1, Starts like before father to son, don't kill me tho, hopefully not terribly, it IS from Jason's POV after all, multi-chapter, my first falsettos fic, possible Post act-2, post canon later on, so i smuged the timeline a little bit, so uhh yeah idk how this will turn out, there shouldn't be anything that bad in this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-21
Updated: 2017-08-28
Packaged: 2018-12-04 23:42:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11565825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Literally/pseuds/Literally
Summary: "I don't live the life of a normal child."





	1. Things Change

**Author's Note:**

> Catch me on tumblr @ youhateless

The idea of being a doctor when he grew up was appealing to Jason since he was eight and first learned about human body systems in the third grade. The way everything worked together - it made sense to him. It worked just right. And in his mind, being a doctor meant that he was able to help people whose bodies’ wouldn't work just right.

And there would always be a way to fix it, wouldn't there? 

At first, his parents were pleased with his interest. But then, as he would find out, life happens. Sometimes your parents don't want you to become a doctor because you’re spending too much time alone, and that’s not good for you. Sometimes one parent divorces another so they can move in with another man, who your mom hates. Sometimes you're forced to see a psychiatrist by your parents, and dad's new “friend”. Sometimes a parent hits one another after they kick their “roommate” out, right after you've become friends with them, and blame someone's mom for it.

And eventually one parent marries another person.

His mother, Trina, had married the psychiatrist, much to Jason's surprise, who went through medical school to become a psychiatrist. He was much more supportive of Jason's aspirations, giving him one of his old textbooks from med school.

"It's just anatomy," the man, named Mendel said. "But it's meant for med students. You're smart, though. I know that. So crack it open, read through it, and ask me if you have any questions."

Jason did take the opportunity to do that, reading the occasional chapter in between chess games he played with others at the park. His mother always hated him carrying it around, complaining to her husband that, "There's no way he can make friends with that thing on him. Couldn't you have given him a more kid-friendly book? He's eleven, after all."

One day while waiting for another chess challenger, he was reading the thick textbook, frowning at phrases like "the antimicrobial enzyme lysozyme which breaks down bacterial cell walls" and "helper T cells can be activated by interaction with the class II MHC molecule" when he heard a slightly nasally voice across from him.

"Hey, wanna go a round? I'll get you ice cream if you win."

Jason looked up slowly from his book, still trying to digest the last few sentences, and was surprised to see his father's ex-friend, Whizzer, sitting across from him.

"Why're you here?" He asked.

Whizzer shrugged and looked down at the chessboard  
. "I was coming through here and I thought I saw a familiar face. Figured it was you. Plus, no other kid carries an old textbook to the park. You doing anything 'sides chess nowadays?"

Jason shook his head, still surprised that he would see Whizzer, of all people in front of him. The last thing his father told him was that Whizzer was out of their lives. For good. 

“I’ll play you in a game of chess, though. I want ice cream.” 

The man just smirked and took the first move.

Fifteen minutes later, they were walking out of the ice cream store, the textbook still under Jason’s arm.

Whizzer contemplated a thought before speaking. “Jason, I know you’re only eleven still. But if you really want to go into that field you gotta find something else to do. Universities, and those fancy medical schools, they like smart people like you. But they also like people who know how to do something else besides read a textbook. Find something else to do, kid. The Jewish center should have something for you to do. Hell, join a baseball team. I know you hate sports, but it’d be good for you.”

Jason frowned before responding. “Mom and Mendel don’t like it when you swear around me.” 

The older man laughed before spotting someone else across the street. “Alright kid. I gotta go. Think about what I said. If you end up doing baseball, I might just drop by a game or two watch. Do me a favor, don’t tell your dad you saw me. He already hates me as is.”

And with that, Whizzer left. Jason frowned, then started back towards his house, ice cream dripping in one hand and textbook weighing down the other. As he walked back, he thought about what his dad’s old friend had said. He was only eleven, so there wasn’t much to worry about. And honestly, he wouldn’t be surprised if there was some sort of scheme between his mother and Whizzer to try and get him to be more social. They did seem to have been on slightly better terms since, what he called, his father’s “apoptosis”, two months earlier. That was a new word he learned from the textbook. What Jason had understood was that it meant a cell killing itself. Or at least fading out of existence. 

Which is sort of where his father was now. He barely saw him, maybe twice a month when he came by to drop off child support, and every time he did see him he was angry. 

As he kept walking through the streets, Jason thought about that too. About Marvi- no, his father. His biological dad. Who only called on his eleventh birthday to mumble a “happy birthday, sorry I couldn’t be there,” then hang up, only to send a card in the mail that arrived two weeks later saying, “Happy 10th birthday, Jason.” 

Jason stopped thinking about all that, now angry at Whizzer for both suggesting that he step out of his comfort zone and also for making him think about his father again. How would Whizzer know anything about medical school anyways, as far as Jason knew, Whizzer only went to college for two years. But Jason liked Whizzer, and didn’t mind the idea of seeing him a few more times. Whizzer was also there for him when his parents were shouting at each other, plus Jason was always able to beat him at chess and get ice cream for it. The real question for him now, was, was it worth it? 

By the time he got back to his street, he decided to not tell Trina and Mendel that he had seen Whizzer, but decided to ask Mendel if he actually needed to make friends to get into medical school. The dream, which had lasted for three years so far, was becoming more appealing to Jason and he didn’t want to risk messing up chances of following it.  
That night, at dinner, he asked cautiously. 

“Mendel…” he said, wondering whether his question would lead to more questions from his mother.

“Hmm?..” the older man muttered back, engrossed in his dinner. 

“Do I need to do something else besides read to become a doctor? I heard someone talking about ‘expanding their application’ today to get into medical school and saying they needed to do some new activities so I wanted to know what I might have to do.” 

“Honestly, Jason, I wouldn’t know now. Everything’s changed since when I’ve started doing this stuff. But honestly speaking - I’m not just saying this so you can be more social - it might be a good idea to pick up a sport or something.” 

“Oh. Mom?” Jason asked, his mind now set on what he should do.

“Yes, dear?” she replied, also preoccupied with the chicken in front of her.

“Can you help me find a baseball team nearby?”


	2. Back Again

A month into joining the local little league team, it was apparent that Jason sucked at baseball. He knew it. He knew his mom and stepdad knew it - at the one game he had played at so far it was impossible to not hear them trying to hear them hide their groans every time he swung the bat.

Yeah, he was bad. So what? At this point, most of his baseball practices were spent sitting on bleachers reading still reading the thick textbook Mendel had given him, with very little time spent “practicing”. That is, if one counted practicing as throwing the ball in a random direction or swinging a bat around wildly until the coach sighed, and said, “Alright, let’s try something different.” 

While giving up on something he had started without giving himself a chance to get better had never been a way of thinking for Jason, he noticed himself getting more and more annoyed at each practice he went to. 

While the idea of the game was interesting, and talking with his teammates about famous players’ statistics was fun, Jason felt - at the risk of seeming bratty - like he had better things to do with his time. 

He knew that he was a person who wanted to, in the end, help others, but at the same time, why shouldn’t he help himself to? After all, he figured, there had to be somewhat enough empathy to go around. It was 1980. A new year, the start of a new decade. Was playing baseball really necessary in order to get where a person wanted in life? 

In the end, he decided to at least stick through the game until the end of the season, reasoning with himself that it wouldn’t hurt to meet some new people. 

Two days before the team’s second game, Mendel approached Jason with an idea. 

“Hey,” he said, frowning slightly but then gaining his classic ‘upbeat’ mood once more. “How’d you think of inviting your dad to your next game? And then to dinner after that? I know...well, things have been tense between you two and Trina as well. From the view of a psychiatrist, and strictly a psychiatrist, that isn’t healthy.” 

Jason considered the idea briefly before remembering exactly what Marvin had done to him and his mom four months earlier.

“Mendel, would you really think that my dad would want to see..me again? Or an even better question, why should I see him again? What’s stopping him from just getting angry and then storming out again, like last time?” Satisfied that his answer would keep Mendel from continuing, he went back to sorting through the few baseball cards he had.  
“Jason, I think Marvin would like to make things up. A person can change, you know. And this is going to sound really cheesy, but it’s really not good for kids, especially an eleven-year-old, to have a bad relationship with their dad.”

Jason frowned, surprised that Mendel kept on pressing the topic. “Hmph. Don’t act like no other kid has a bad relationship with their dad. I’d hardly be alone. You know Lance Becker, from my class? He never sees his dad but he’s fine.”

Mendel sighed, silently cursing himself for getting into a relationship where the eleven year old already had the brains - and attitude - of a teenager. “Just because he’s fine doesn’t mean you are. And...your dad called today and asked if he could speak with you and Trina. Or at least you. You know, Jason, for all his faults - and believe me, I know most of them - he truly does want the best for you.”

“Yeah right, if he even wanted me,” Jason shot back quickly, before realizing that he wasn’t supposed to technically know the details of why exactly his father married his mother. It wasn’t his fault for overhearing them yelling at night when they thought he was asleep. 

There was an oddly long amount of silence from Mendel before he spoke up again. “Jason. Give him a chance, buddy. You don’t even have to talk to him during the baseball game. Just a quick chat before, or maybe after dinner. Your mom and I will be there, and I swear, I’ll make sure nothing happens to you.” 

The final comment made Jason instantly frown and emotionally harden himself. How would Mendel know that he was afraid of his dad? That after seeing Marvin hit Trina, all trust for his father had instantly been broken. That it was just scary. 

The rational side of him quickly returned. As much trust had been lost between the father and son, he missed his dad. He missed the quick chess games between the two, and the occasional outing he got with him - when his dad wasn’t too busy with his new friend, as his mother would often say with disgust. 

“Do you really think he would watch the game?” 

“Yeah, Jason, I’m sure he would. Didn’t you guys used to watch baseball games together? Well, now you’re playing the sport. I’m sure he’s thrilled.” With that, and a small satisfied smile, Mendel turned and left Jason’s room. 

Trying to consider whether or not Mendel had ended his sentence on a sarcastic note, Jason began putting his cards back into the binder Trina had gotten him after his first practice, when he had come home with a small amount. Maybe if he saw Whizzer at the park again he could ask for help on his collection. Sure, he may suck at the sport, but collecting cards was pretty fun.

Two days later, while Jason was sitting in the box, this time reading the textbook in between his plays, he heard a familiar voice behind him.

“Hey, Jason. It’s nice to see you again.” 

Jason jumped and turned around, surprised to see his father, Marvin, standing behind the fence in a red hoodie. 

“Oh. Hi...dad. I’m just...playing right now.”

Marvin just nodded and said, “Alright then, well I’ll sit with your mother and Mendel. Have fun, kid.” 

The game ended exactly as how Jason expected - him not hitting the ball even once and their team losing 16-7. 

The four went out for dinner afterwards, with Jason only throwing a sweater over his baseball uniform. At the restaurant, Marvin took out a small box and handed it to Jason.

“Here, I know I missed your birthday, so I thought I’d get you this. It’s relatively new and was expensive, be careful with it.”

Jason opened the box, wondering what it could be. When he realized what it was, he became incredibly excited.

“A walkman! Hey, no way. Only, like, some eighth graders at my school have one. I guess cause parents don’t trust sixth graders with them. Thanks dad!” 

Suddenly remembering, again, what had happened four months earlier, Jason clammed up quickly. 

“I’ll..be sure to put it to good use.” 

Marvin frowned, obviously concerned with the sudden change in his son. “You’re welcome. I hope you have fun with it.”

Mendel looked especially pleased with how the night was going by that point, while Trina looked mildly uncomfortable. The actual dinner was a slightly tense but amiable affair, with only smalltalk going on between the adults while Jason fiddled with his new gadget, trying to figure out what he could do with it. Marvin had given him a cassette tape to go along with it, but Jason was waiting until he got home to actually try it out and use it. He began to tune in again into the adults’ conversation.

“...to have Jason stay over sometime, maybe on the weekends. If we could work things out again, that would be fantastic. This is if Jason is okay with it too, of course. I’ve gotten some new neighbors and they’re pretty nice, one of them is a doctor. If Jason is still interested in that path, I’m sure she’d love to chat with him.” 

Jason frowned, surprised that his father would want to suddenly connect up with them again, before hearing Trina respond, “Well, maybe. We have to work out some...issues though,” putting an end to the conversation and turning it back to the upcoming election. Which, in Jason’s mind, was the worst thing to talk about, especially if someone was meeting up again with someone they had abandoned for the past four months. 

As the dinner ended, Marvin spoke up. “Hey, can I go back to ou-...your house, Trina, Mendel? I’d like to speak to Jason before I go back home.”

Trina and Mendel shared a look before Mendel shrugged and nodded. “Sure. Just don’t stay past twelve.” 

The entire car ride back, Jason sat wondering what his father would say to him. After months of almost complete silence towards him and his mom, what would his father possibly have to say? 

Back at home, Marvin had sat on their big couch, next to Jason’s chessboard. Jason sat on the armchair next to it, slightly unsure and feeling awkward in his own home. Remembering what Mendel had said earlier on, about him and Trina being there, he glanced over to the kitchen where he could see the couple doing dishes from earlier on that day.

Marvin sighed, then spoke.

“Jason...I know that I messed up. I know that I messed up big time. First, I cheated on you and your mother. I hit her and left her in shambles with her new husband. Then I left, and didn’t talk to you. And now, I’m back here, back in your life again. And honestly, if you hate me, I don’t blame you.”

Jason, becoming slight uncomfortable with the unusually emotional talk from his father, turned towards his chessboard. Marvin gently pushed the board away.

“Kid, listen...I didn’t deal with my own problems the right way. I’ve learned now that I should have dealt with them face on. You didn’t deserve any of this. The divorce, seeing your mother and I argue constantly, me forcing you and Trina to act like one happy family with my b-.” Marvin stopped himself before continuing again. “With a new lover. Jason, I’m sorry. I really, truly am sorry. You don’t have to make the same mistakes as I did. You are a much better person than I am...look at what you want to become. Keep your head high kid. I believe in you. You know that? I'll always try to make your life better than mine ever was...I love you. So much.”

The rare three words made almost made Jason gasp with shock. For the first time in almost two years, he felt tears coming out of his eyes. Marvin, of all people, had made him feel like he could show his emotions.

The father and son hugged.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of Jason's internal thoughts in this chapter have been based off of personal experience, so yep. There's gonna be more characters in the next chapter, the three that weren't in this one. Probably lol. Anyways, I hope you somewhat liked this chapter, it's really fun writing this so far. 
> 
> Comments are nice :)


	3. Content

By the summer of 1980, a somewhat regular routine had been established for Jason - on weekdays, he would be staying at his mom and Mendel’s house, since it was closer to school, and on Fridays, he would take the 104 to his dad’s apartment, where on Sunday nights, his mom or Mendel - or both - would pick him up. It was Friday afternoon, and Jason was lounging on the couch in his dad’s apartment right after he had come home from school, waiting for his dad to come home from work so they could have dinner with the neighbors - Charlotte and Cordelia. 

He knew that his birthday was coming up in September, meaning he would turn twelve, which then meant that preparation for his bar mitzvah would come in a sudden, full-blown force. For the time being, Jason figured there was no harm in just being able to not worry about anything at the moment and enjoy the few months of free time he had left before his schedule would be filled up again. 

Glancing briefly at his chessboard and wondering whether he should start a game with himself, he remembered that Charlotte, the doctor who lived with her girlfriend (they had been very direct about that to Jason the first time they met) next door had said she could explain to him some parts of the anatomy textbook that Mendel had given him. There was one part - stuff about cellular innate defenses - that had simply stumped him even after he read it three times through. Plus, he didn’t really get B or T cell activation.

The lack of understanding was annoying to him - he was smart, couldn’t he figure it out? After asking Mendel about it and watching him stutter through some sentences about “-this is why I’m a psychiatrist” he decided to ask Charlotte instead. 

His thoughts led from one place to another and somehow ended up on the topic of girls and which ones he blushed around and which ones he thought he should invite to his Bar Mitzvah - it was never too early to start, planning ahead, right? A quick thought fluttered through his head, “See, I like girls. I’m not gonna turn out all weird like dad,” but disappeared just as quick when he wondered what was wrong with being a homo - it’s not like they’d all die early or something. Would they? All the kids in school acted like being homosexual was a bad thing. What was the difference between liking a guy and liking a girl? Slightly embarrassed by his thoughts, Jason grabbed the remote and turned on the TV only to hear the jingling of keys announcing Marvin’s arrival home.

“Hi Jason, how’re you? Turn the TV off, it’s not good for you. We have guests coming over tonight, remember? It’s Friday. Why don’t you get changed?”

Ugh. Nagging. At least, Jason reasoned, it’s better than being ignored for four months straight. 

On the other hand, he had just turned on the TV. And it was only 5pm. There was still an hour. “Dad-” he started, but was cut off.

“Jason, can you please at least change your clothes? Then you can listen to your Walkman after that. I have to get this place cleaned up, I haven’t had time at all this past week. Unless you want to help?”

Groaning, Jason rolled off the couch and plodded to his room. After changing, he turned on his Walkman and began listening to some of what he called “adult music”. It wasn’t inappropriate, it was just what his dad found to be interesting. 

Which meant it was classical. 

After what felt like hours, there was a knock at the door down the hall. Jason jumped up and ran to open it.

“Hi Charlotte! Hi Cordelia! What’re we having today?” The food they ate from their next door neighbors was always...interesting. Sometimes it would turn out amazing and Jason would be craving it for the entire week, or sometimes he would excuse himself halfway through dinner to go to the restroom and rinse out his mouth. 

Cordelia spoke up, looking optimistic but slightly nervous, as if though she was worried that something was going to explode. “Hey Jason..actually, we were thinking about Chinese. From that place down the street? Sound good?”

Charlotte smirked knowingly behind her, letting out a small snicker.

Jason was surprised at the change in their menu. “Why, something happen?” Since their dinners usually never strayed from what Cordelia had cooked, no matter how it turned out, Jason figured only a death could prevent the food from being served to them.

“Yeah, well, uhh...I was making homemade pizza and…” At this point Charlotte was trying to prevent herself from shedding tears of laugher. “I put the pizza in the oven...and I guess I was supposed to use a pan or something because it just sorta fell through.” 

The mental image of a pizza hanging limply from the oven rack made Jason double over in laughter. “Wait, seriously? You really didn’t...like stop and think ‘hey maybe a pan would make this easier.’”

Cordelia made what Jason would describe as a face of regret, and responded back. “Nope. So let’s get Chinese. Where’s your dad?”

At this point, Marvin had come out of the kitchen, looking slightly frazzled and hair messed up.

“Oooh, Marvin, you found someone new to spend some quality time with?” Charlotte teased. Jason loved how even though she was a doctor, Charlotte could be light hearted. All the doctors he’d seen - excluding Mendel, because he wasn’t really a doctor - were serious and seemed to never have any emotions. 

Marvin frowned. “What? No! I was just cleaning up for you guys to come around with dinner. Speaking of which, where’s dinner? Are you crying Charlotte?” 

Laughing, Charlotte relayed Cordelia’s story to Marvin, with Jason interrupting sometimes to throw in a snarky comment. By the end of the story, Marvin simply looked aghast. Something Jason didn’t expect out of a story that hilarious. 

“Oh...uhh...well alright then, Chinese it is.” 

The rest of the evening was spent happily chatting over stories from Charlotte’s work. Jason was pretty sure at that point Charlotte only told them because she knew of his goals - there was no other reason to tell the story of a 42-year-old female coming in complaining of a tension headache and having the problem be solved by simply being told to sleep more and to stop watching TV shows late at night other than the fact the pure concept of it all enthralled someone at the table. 

As the dinner was coming to a close, and their neighbors were ready to go back to their apartment, Jason leaned over to Charlotte and asked for her help explaining a couple of concepts in the textbook he had. She agreed, and the two ended up staying at the table well past 9pm, until Marvin finally came back into the kitchen.

“Hey, buddy, how about we let Charlotte get back to her apartment to wash up? It’s getting pretty late, and you have a game tomorrow.” 

Slightly disappointed that there couldn’t be more, Jason begrudgingly agreed and began putting all the papers they had used during the impromptu tutoring session back in his book. Charlotte began getting up from the table, stretching. 

“Hey, Jason, if you’re ever interested, I could give you a tour of the hospital. Whenever you’re free,” she said, smiling. “And feel free to ask me for clarification again in the future. I needed the review.” 

Wide-eyed at the offer, Jason looked at his father, who shrugged. “Sure, whatever’s fine with me. You’ll have to ask your mother and Mendel, though.” 

“Yeess! Sure, Charlotte! Anytime you’re free!” Charlotte smiled knowingly.

“Night, neighbors,” she said, and walked out of the apartment. 

“Dad! Were you being serious?” asked Jason excitedly. The offer was invigorated him - how many other kids his age would get to do that? Plus, he could hang out with Charlotte some more - she was someone to be looked up to, in his opinion. Nothing could change that. 

Marvin smiled. “Yes, I was. You have to stop forcing her to stay here two hours after dinner ends explaining stuff from your book, though. She probably has other things to do.”

Jason was already out of the kitchen and headed to his room, giddy with excitement. As he walked into his bedroom, he heard his father shouting: “And remember! You have a baseball game tomorrow! Don’t stay up too late!” 

The next morning, at promptly 9am, Marvin came into Jason’s room, looking slightly annoyed. 

“Jason, I just got a call and I have to go into the office today. You can take the train by yourself to the field, right? I can give you money for ice cream afterwards if you want. I know I said I was going to watch this one this time, but…”

Jason just shrugged, not really disappointed. He figured that watching him play was almost a burden at this point. “Sure, I know how to get there. Mom and Mendel can’t make it today either. I think they said something about shopping.”

Marvin looked surprised at Jason’s nonchalant response, possibly expecting disappointment from his son. “So you’re OK getting back, too? I’m not sure how long I have to be there. Sorry, buddy.” 

“Yeah. How much ice cream money do I get?” Might as well try to get the largest size he could while his parents weren’t around, Jason figured. 

Marvin chuckled as he handed $3 to Jason, ruffled his hair, and said, “Good luck at the game today.” 

The game went as well as expected - meaning that Jason’s team had lost 24-6. As the rest of his team was walking out, groaning to themselves about their bad luck, Jason followed, calculating how many games they had gotten less than 30% of the other team’s points in. At that point, it was 5. Out of 7 games. 

Whatever. He reminded himself that baseball wasn’t that important. Sure, it was fun to watch but if you sucked at it, why bother even trying at that point? Sighing, and walking out of the ballpark to his backpack, he took off his jersey, then started towards the ice cream shop with three dollars in hand. 

A familiar voice made him stop in his tracks, startled that someone he knew would be there. He turned around to find the source of the voice, then grinned.

“Hey, Whizzer! How’d you know I had a game today? Wait, how’d you know I even started playing baseball?”

Whizzer looked sheepishly at his camera. “Actually, I didn’t. I stopped by the ballpark to take photos of players and I saw you.”

“That’s creepy.”

“What, seeing you at the ballpark or taking photos of players?” Whizzer asked, grinning.

“Taking photos of players. Are you even allowed to do that?” Jason wondered.

“Yeah, since I’m submitting them to some contest that’s titled ‘Summer Activities’ I sure am,” Whizzer responded.

“Oh, alright. You should come get ice cream with me, if you’re able to then. My dad gave me money and it’s hot today. Plus I haven’t seen you for a while. Where’ve you been?” 

Whizzer frowned, unsure of how to respond to the sudden changes in topic. “Sure, I’ll get ice cream for you. I can pay, if you want, and we should catch up. And I’ve just been around the city, doing my own things. Like taking photographs.” 

“Cool!” Jason replied, and set back off once again towards the ice cream store. He heard Whizzer start walking behind him, and he thought back to the first time he had met the man. His father had introduced him as a friend from work, and soon after that - maybe a week later - he heard his mother crying, his father shouting, and saw Whizzer scurry away from the den of their house, with his shirt half on. 

Afterwards, his parents fought more and then eventually divorced. He had hated Whizzer for a bit after that. He still felt a slight bitterness towards the man today, for causing his dad to divorce his mom, even though Whizzer was probably one of his best friends now. But when his dad kept on eating dinners at their house, and brought Whizzer along, leading to more fighting between the ex husband and wife, Jason found that talking to Whizzer helped him ignore what was going on in the background. In fact, Whizzer seemed to have a lot in common with him.

And, friends were nice to have.

After getting their ice creams, he and Whizzer sat down at one of the small booths. Jason had gotten a salted caramel ice cream, while Whizzer got just plain vanilla. 

“Isn’t it boring? The taste?” asked Jason. Whizzer laughed.

“Well I mean, there’s so much you can add to it that would give it variety. It’s like the base flavor, y’know? That’s why it’s my favorite. And, it’s not too sweet.” 

“Oh. Okay. Maybe I’ll take it into consideration again. You know, I hated it after my parents split cause it’s my dad’s favorite flavor. I don’t know, I just thought that if I changed everything we had in common, I wouldn’t turn out like him. It’s...sorta stupid now that I say it out loud.” Jason finished his sentence mumbling, looking down at his ice cream again.

Whizzer nodded. “I know what you mean. Like if you were in any way similar to your dad you would end up hurting people in the future like he did, right?”

“Yeah. But, I’m staying at his apartment on weekends now and he’s nice. I shouldn’t feel anything bad towards him now. He seems like he changed. Since you left, I mean.” Jason frowned. Should he have brought that up? Whizzer, however, seemed unbothered by the comment.

“That’s good. How’s your mom and Mendel?”

“They’re good, I guess. I don’t know. Dad got me a walkman as a late eleventh birthday gift so I’ve just been using that.” Noticing his ice cream was melting, he licked his cone. “I think everything’s gone back to normal now. You should come to my games, though. I like hanging out with you.”

The older man laughed. “Jason, do you have any other friends besides me?”

“Yeah, of course I do. I’m friendly with my baseball team. And there’s this kid at lunch who I eat with. I don’t know his name though.”

“Jason, you’re not friends with someone if you don’t know their name!” Whizzer exclaimed. 

Jason frowned. “I think it’s close enough. Also, did you know that there’s a chess club at my school? I’m part of that too and the math teacher who runs it likes me, I think.”

Whizzer took a deep breath. “Jason, you need to become friendly with someone your own age. You can’t just be friends with all adults! We’re all going to die before you do and after that you’ll be lonely,” he said, only half-joking. 

“Well that’s not going to happen anytime soon. Aren’t you like, 20 or something? According to statistics, you’re dying when you’re 70. So that’s 50 more years. And I bet by the time all of you guys die I’ll have made a friend my age.” At least Jason hoped so. He was only eleven after all, he reasoned, and still had a long time to make new friends. 

“Woah, okay, first of all I’m 30. Off by ten years, buddy. But thanks for the compliment And second of all, it’d be..you know...helpful to your mental development or something to find some more friends right now,” Whizzer replied, wondering how Jason could be so off on his age. 

“You’re nagging now. Like mom,” Jason responded, and finished his ice cream cone. “I think I have to go home now, too.” He realized that the phrasing of his sentence made it seem like he didn’t want to talk to Whizzer anymore, which in fact, was the exact opposite of what he wanted to do. “But can we do this again? You should come to my games and we can get ice cream after. My parents usually don’t come, anyways.”

Whizzer thought about the offer for a moment before responding: “Maybe. If I’m free on Saturdays I might drop by for a bit. You have enough money to get back, right?”

Jason nodded. “Yeah, my dad gave me a dollar in quarters to get to and from the field.”

“Alright then, I’ll see you around, Jason,” Whizzer said, smiling as grabbed his leather jacket which Jason just noticed he was wearing, then left. 

As Jason headed back to the metro station, he hoped that he really would be seeing more of Whizzer. He was a cool person to talk with. The adult who wouldn’t discipline him for speaking his mind. 

The train pulled into the stop, and Jason got on. As it began to move again, he sat down, realizing for the first time in months, he was content with how things were going.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! So here's another chapter. It's really fun to write so far. My schedule for updating is completely messed up now so..yep. Hopefully I'll be able to finish this though lol. Hope you enjoyed! If you did you should comment/give kudos because I live for that stuff. Thanks!


	4. Without a Say

After the baseball season had finished, Jason decided to fall back to his usual routine of going to the park after schools to play against his peers. Much to his satisfaction, he still kept up his streak of winning every game, sometimes even completing the game in less than ten moves. The disappointing part was how easy the games went. Yeah, he learned that he has to be humble and not brag about how good he was at stuff or whatever, but Jason knew for a fact that he was good at chess. Screw being humble for that. There was one person who could seriously challenge him - an old man that would sometimes come to the park for seemingly a quick stroll, but who would end up sitting down and playing with Jason. Their games usually lasted at least an hour.

It was fun. Jason realized he never actually talked to the older man playing with him but he figured that having the company around was nice. Although, Jason thought, remembering Whizzer’s advice to make some friends his age, having someone who he could relate to might be fun.

It wasn’t only Whizzer who had suggested politely that Jason make more friends. It was also Mendel. Almost the day after Jason had turned 12, Trina and Marvin had excitedly began making plans for his bar mitzvah. Surprisingly, they were able to talk in a somewhat civil manner for extended amounts of time whenever one of the parents went to drop off of pick up Jason from the other’s home. Of course, the conversations always ended with shouting about certain plans or who should be invited or who would make the food. (Jason wanted Cordelia to do that part, he figured she should be involved in one of the biggest moments of his life because, well after all, she was his friend.) 

One night in January, after an afternoon of weekend chess playing, Trina and Mendel had come over to pick Jason up from Marvin’s house. 

Jason found them shouting over some nonsense about his bar mitzvah that he quickly began to tune out by turning on his walkman. Mendel walked over to him and asked what his plans for the guest list were.

“I don’t really know yet,” he responded, still listening to his walkman. “I mean, I guess I’ll just invite my whole grade. That way I can also maximize the amount of presents I get.” 

Mendel frowned, concerned. “You...do have friends, right Jason? Like a friend group you eat with at lunch? Maybe people you hang out with after school, because I know that you don’t come home right away.” 

“Seriously? I told you and mom that I go to the park after school to play chess with some people who just stop by. And yes, Mendel, I do have some friends.”

“Such as?...”

“Well...I don’t know, but I’m pretty sure they’re my friends. I told you about one of my classmates who sits near me at lunch, right? I think I’m friends with him, but I don’t know his name. And before you say something stupid like ‘oh, well Jason, you have to know his name,’ names are just sorta hard for me to keep track of. There’s other stuff I focus on. During lunch I usually read the textbook you gave to me, anyways.”

Mendel sighed. “You have to have names in order to make a guest list for your bar mitzvah, Jason. Speaking of which, have you started studying your prayers yet?” 

“I thought you weren’t into all this religion stuff.”

“Yeah, I may not be, but I’m pretty sure I’m into not making your mom pissed off at me because I’m ‘discouraging you from embracing your heritage’ or whatever she comes up with. You should sta- well, you know what? I’ll leave that for your dad to talk to you about next weekend. Buddy, you have got to meet some new people, though, alright? And i’m not just saying this from a ‘I know what’s good for you point of view’ either. I had no friends at your age either and by the time planning came around for my bar mitzvah, my parents just chose who would show up at my celebration. Stupid, right? So don’t let it turn out to be that way for you, either. And, for the record, your bar mitzvah is not just about the people who show up with presents. There’s a lot more to it than the objects. It’s when you become accountable for all of your own actions. Not your parents. You.”

At that point, Jason was growing tired of all the nagging he was receiving from someone who was usually the “cool dad.” 

“Yeah, okay Mendel, anyways, someone already told me that I should make more friends anyways and I’ve been working on it. That’s why I’ve been going to the park after school to play chess. Maybe I’ll meet someone my age who also likes it.” 

Mendel raised his eyebrows. “Alright, Jason. Try and figure out their names, too.” With that, he was off to speak to Trina and Marvin about Jason’s bar mitzvah.

To Jason, none of this was fair. He barely got a say in the planning of a celebration that was supposed to be for him. It was always his parents bickering and Mendel occasionally throwing in snarky comments. Once, a couple of weeks before that day’s debacle, the lesbians had come over (they probably heard the shouting through the walls) to see what was going on, and ended up just talking with his parents while he was left sitting on the side or in his room waiting to go back to his mom’s house. 

At least he knew that his parents were on terms decent enough to be talking about his bar mitzvah, though. 

Sighing, Jason lay down on his bed and stared at the ceiling while listening to his music. The two most important things he would have to decide in the near future was whether or not he should sign up for the upcoming baseball season, and who should be invited to his bar mitzvah. Yeah, he had thought about both previously, but the two events were rushing towards him at a surprisingly quick speed and decisions had to be made. 

He had mixed thoughts about doing baseball again. Whizzer had told him he should do it, and baseball was one of the only ways he was able to see the older man who he now considered a close friend. The only issue was that Jason sucked at baseball, and hadn’t seen any improvements in his game since the beginning of the last season. Remembering the conversation he had just had with Mendel, he realized that playing baseball was also a good way for him to make new friends. Or at least acquaintances.

In terms of his guest list, which was the one thing his parents did let him have input on, he knew that he wanted Whizzer to be there. Everything kept on circling back to Whizzer for him, didn’t it? Thinking in terms of his classmates, he wouldn’t mind inviting his entire grade. Except for the small fact that his dad was a homosexual and his neighbors were lesbians and his mom married their psychiatrist, for god’s sake. His entire family was messed up and if you threw Whizzer into the mix it would be even worse. What would his classmates think? He was already the weird kid, was it possible to become even weirder? 

Hearing the shouting in the other room come to a sudden halt, he got off his bed and grabbed his backpack, ready to go home, and decided that he would call Whizzer and ask for his advice. As Jason walked out of the room, he decided, as an afterthought, that he would sign up for baseball again. Maybe his dad and Whizzer would get back together again. 

That, he figured, should stop the yelling about my bar mitzvah. My dad’s been acting all depressed ever since he kicked Whizzer out which is probably where all these disagreements are coming from. There’s no one else for him to argue with. 

Jason walked down the hall to the kitchen. “Mom, Mendel, can we go now? I have school tomorrow.” 

He looked at the adults. Trina was fuming and Marvin looked incredibly strained, as if though he was laying an egg, while Mendel stood next to Trina looking moderately amused. 

Trina took a deep breath and glared at Marvin. “Alright, Jason honey, you have all your things? Mendel, dear, I do see that look on your face and have to remind you that this is serious business.”

“No, yes, definitely, I never said otherwise,” responded Mendel with the smirk now wiped off his face. 

Jason began heading to the door. “I’ll see you next weekend, dad!” 

That seemed to snap Marvin out of his thoughts and the man took a deep breath and smiled. “See you on Friday, Jason.” Jason got out of the apartment first and waited until his mom and Mendel came out and then started towards the stairs. 

“So, is it hard? Planning something that isn’t even for you?” 

Trina flushed. “Jason, would you really like to be organizing all of this? You have other stuff to focus on honey, such as your schoolwork. And you’ve barely began learning your prayers. Just leave it to us, honey.” 

Of course. What other response did he expect? Actual understanding from his parents? 

“Sure, mom. Can you sign me up for this next baseball season? I want to try again. I think I’ve picked up a few tips from my last coach.”

“Of course, honey. I’m glad you want to try it again.”

“And mom? Mendel? I need to use the phone when we get home so I can call a friend, okay? So don’t use it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so sorry for the sporadic updates but life has been busy. School's starting again soon for me so idk when I'll be updating exactly, hopefully at least once a month lol. This chapter is a bit short and the flow is a bit off but I promise that next time it'll be better. 
> 
> Also, thanks for the comments. Next chapter will have a lot of Jason chilling around Whizzer. And maybe something to do with Marvin, too. 
> 
> Comments/kudos appreciated! (Literally any type of comment, too.)

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic in a REALLY long time, and first fic on ao3 and for this fandom. Hopefully I'll be able to update on a pretty scheduled basis but it's summer and I'm writing for fun. Constructive criticism appreciated! Thank you guys!!


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